The government was deluged with criticism last night over its decision to give the go-ahead for the export of spare parts for British Hawks used by Zimbabwe in the Congolese civil war.

The Labour chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, Donald Anderson, who is normally restrained in his criticism of the government, said he understood the need for British companies to meet contractual obligations, but added that in this case he thought the supply of spare parts should not be resumed.

He described the Congo war as futile and considered export inappropriate on the eve of peace talks at the UN.

In an indication of the extent to which the decision has divided the Labour party, Glenys Kinnock, the Labour Euro MP and wife of the former Labour leader, expressed concern that the sales could contribute to "exacerbating the tragic misery caused by the Congo conflict".

She said it was untenable and incomprehensible that the British government should assist the president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, in waging a war when his country was in such severe economic difficulty.

She also questioned whether the decision might put Britain in breach of the European code on arms exports.

The shadow foreign secretary, John Maples, readily joined in the condemnation, despite the fact that the Hawk fighter jets were sold to Zimbabwe under the Conservatives: "Zimbabwe has an appalling record on human rights, economic mismanagement, government corruption and abuse of aid.

Menzies Campbell, the foreign affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, who have been distancing themselves from Labour, said: "It is high time that the searchlight of public scrutiny was directed at the secretive Whitehall decisions on arms exports.

"It is simply not acceptable in a modern, democratic system that parliament should be unable to scrutinise decisions which have significant international consequences and are deeply damaging to Britain's reputation abroad."

The Labour backbencher Ann Clwyd, who is a member of the Commons international development committee, called for the creation of a Commons committee of MPs to scrutinise arms exports to contentious areas of the world.

Reflecting the view of many Labour backbenchers, the Cynon Valley MP added: "I feel that we raised expectations that we would have a different policy to the last government when we came into power, and I am extremely disappointed that we are selling arms to In donesia and now keeping the Hawks flying in the war in Congo.

"In the situation that country is in, with a terrible war in which so many people have died and are dying, I think anything that fuels the ability of a country to fight that war should not be supported."

Lord Avebury, the vice-chairman of the parliamentary human rights committee and a Liberal Democrat, said: "I think there should be no weapon sales to Zimbabwe. They cannot afford them. It is risking their economy. Every one knows it is almost bankrupt and defaulting on loans and, in the circumstances, we should not only withhold the Hawk spares but any parts."

Rachel Harford of the pressure group Campaign Against Arms Trade said: "It is lamentable that ultimately the buck stops with a prime minister who feels more obligation to do the bidding of arms companies than to uphold any commitment to human rights.

"He is enabling Zimbabwe to continue its military campaign by providing components for Hawk aircraft.

"We are now witness to several occasions when the prime minister has intervened personally on behalf of his powerful friends in the arms industry.

"This is at the cost of exacerbating division in his own government, creating embarrassment on the world stage for the UK, but most importantly fuelling conflict in war regions and aiding the abuse of human rights in Indonesia, the Congo, and several other countries."

The case for and against

The prime minister's official spokesman, Alastair Campbell

"The supply of Hawk spares is covered by a contract approved by the last government before the war in the Congo started.

"Such contracts can only be revoked in extreme circumstances. The taxpayer would be liable for compensation to be paid and [it would] undermine the credibility of British contractors and British suppliers.

"Our export criteria do not say, and have never said, you cannot export to countries involved in conflicts. What they do say is you cannot export any equipment that might be used for external aggression."

"My judgment, certainly on the reports we have had thus far, is that there should be delay, for this reason - at the moment, Zimbabwe is involved in a futile foreign war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"Over 10,000 soldiers are involved. There are going to be peace talks, brokered by the US, starting on Monday. Now is not the time to supply those spare parts.

"Certainly my judgment is that it would be wrong to resume the supply of spare parts at this time."